Birthday season is constantly upon us, and yet, one month seems to be jam-packed with everyone’s birthdays, apart from your own of course. Whilst it’s a great social season, your purse might not agree. How exactly can you look like the best possible present buyer if you can’t really afford to buy one? Well, it’s simple really.
Now we’re at Uni most of us take photo after photo in order to preserve our fond memories on Facebook. But here lies the perfect tools for the perfect present; take your friend’s favourite photos and put a scrapbook together for them. Undoubtedly, this is a great gift; it’s fun to make, your friend will love the thought gone into it and it will be a lot of fun to pick it up in a few years and laugh at how we once were, or even to add more memories to it. Photo gifts don’t just have to be restricted to scrapbooks though, get a mug with your lovely face printed on, or go for a keyring. If you can think of anything that a photo can be put onto to, I’ll guarantee someone somewhere does it. Look online or pop into a photo printing shop in town and you’ll be able to get all of these quite cheaply, normally around £5-£10, not too shabby.
You could even all decide to make presents this year, think the Friends episode where Monica and Chandler make gifts, maybe avoid a sock bunny though. I’m definitely useless at things like this, with my talents stretching to perhaps making my own card. However, if everyone agrees, then nothing has to be too spectacular and you’ll all be left with one of a kind presents. Cheap, special and fun – why not?
Without sounding too tight here, I think one of the best presents I ever bought for my Dad didn’t cost a penny! He is constantly thinking about his next holiday and browsing around for the best deals in exotic places, so instead of going for the usual pair of socks, I went in to the local travel agents and picked him up a stack of holiday brochures. It might look cheap but after wrapping it up nicely it certainly looked the part, and after originally teasing me for ‘breaking the bank with this one’, he really appreciated the thought. That said, he certainly used them more than another pair of socks! This type of present doesn’t have to stop with brochures though, if your friend collects anything chances are you can get your hands on something for free or at least very cheaply, think beer mats and coins. It certainly shows you know the person inside out.
Buying birthday presents always proves to be a huge obstacle, but if you strip it back to basics then it won’t leave you tearing your hair out. So be creative, think outside the box and you’ll be the best present giver around.
